The facts of the story are simple.Charles Jeffreys, a gentleman of independent means. Prosperous. Had a big house called Gwynfryn near Aberystwyth. A county magistrate.He was sued by Evan Williams, a farm worker. 23 years old.The crime? A violent assault on 4 May 1870.You see, Jeffreys thought that Williams was a burglar and you can understand why, but he wasnt. I better explain.Evan Williams was courting Sarah Williams, a housemaid in Jeffreys house. She invited her beloved to come to the house one night where they could indulge in the Welsh courtship practice of bundling.He took his pal with him for company. This was Evan Jenkins, who was keen to visit Ellen Jones, another servant at Gwynfryn. Jenkins was also to sue Jeffreys for assault as we shall see.Anyway, they turned up, full of anticipation I am sure, at 8.30 pm and were told by the cook, Eliza , to wait until the man-servant had finished his supper. The two boys slipped into the wash house and took off their boots. Well, its important.Then, when the coast was clear, they nipped silently up the back stairs to the maids bedroom.Now, this bundling business.It did exercise quite a lot of opinion at the time since it wasnt an English way of proceeding, but there was nothing complicated about it. All very straightforward actually.The two sweethearts would lie side by side in bed, talking. It was called car war y gwely courting in bed. And the staid English saw it as immoral, pagan behaviour? Cant think why.Lets be honest, it is not without its attractions. Comfortable. Warm. And most importantly, dry. No secret assignations in a wet barn. And it beats standing around in the driving Welsh rain. It gives you a chance to talk about other things too, not just how wet your feet are.As you might imagine, bundling was blamed for all kinds of immorality, for high levels of rural illegitimacy or a hasty marriage to cover shame. You will not be surprised to learn that Ministers preached against it. Bundling was condemned from some pulpits as The Great Sin of Wales. Parents and employers were urged to stamp it out. But the point about the rain swings it for me.Anyway, picture the scene. By 10.00 pm the candle was snuffed out. We have Evan and Sarah bundling in one bedstead and Evan and Ellen in another. All very cosy Im sure. Eliza the cook was in a small bed on the floor, presumably feeling a little left out. Of course everyone was fully dressed, obviously, though the two boys had taken their coats off. Well, it doesnt rain indoors.And everything was fine. As the court report indicates and I shall, where possible, let those involved speak in their own words, as reported to the court, They continued in this position and chatted away until early morn. Very cosy. Entirely innocent I am sure.Then, at 2.00am, they heard someone coming upstairs. Mrs. Jeffreys had heard voices you see. Sure enough, she appeared in the bedroom with a lighted candle. Evan Williams attempt to hide under the counterpane was futile. Hed been spotted. So whilst he was grabbing his coat, she was screaming downstairs to her husband.Charlie! Charlie!It was clearly time for the boys to make their excuses, especially when Charlie appeared, carrying a big stick. Hed been outside, searching the garden, thinking the girls had been talking to men from their window. But it was worse than that. They were inside. It was two in the morning. He was not a happy bunny.I beg your pardon sir, said Evan Williams.I am going to kill you, replied Mr. Jeffreys. To be honest, he does seem rather tetchy.He attacked Williams with his stick, immediately breaking his nose. The poor boy crashed back into the washstand and Williams and Jenkins desperately tried to get downstairs, with blows raining down on their heads and shoulders. They got into the kitchen but the backdoor was locked and bolted. Trapped.In the kitchen there was Jeffreys brother in law, the Reverend Mr. Truman, who happened to be staying at Gwynfryn. This was not the sort of nocturnal entertainment that came his way that often. Tonight he had a ring-side seat. He watched as Jeffreys put his stick on the table and started to thump the two boys mightily and to man-handle them along the hall and out of the front door.According to Reverend Mr. Truman they seemed rather glad to get away. One of them was heard to say, Well I shall never come here again, which shows that at least hed picked up the hint. They also stopped to pick up their boots, though they were apparently too frightened to put them on.Things hadnt quite gone to plan. A bad night all round.The Reverend gentleman, on giving evidence, did say that it was a lucky thing that Jeffreys had not firearms with him, as he might have fired upon them, under the impression that they were burglars. And that was surely the point. As the defence pointed out, could the custom of bundling be any justification for the presence of strange men in a gentlemans house at any time they pleased to come? A good point I think, and certainly one the two girls had ever considered.As it was, the boys injuries were extensive. Cuts, bruises, black eyes, a dislocated thumb and a broken nose. The girls were dismissed. Ellen was back at home with her parents in Ruthin and Sarah was back with her Dad, a master butcher also in RuthinLoves young dream shattered.Ellen told the court that she didnt know whether Jenkins and herself would make a match of it. Evan Williams, on the basis of his annual wages of 14 10s, had, apparently, made up his mind to marry Sarah, though what she thought about the idea isnt clear. What is clear however is that he wasnt going to go courting according to the custom of the country again. The public gallery was quite amused by this comment.But hang on a minute, he had issues.He was unable to go to work as a result of this misfortune. Not only that, but he was in a sick club. And the sick club declined to give him his sick pay because of the way in which hed received his injuries. On the whole, his evening of bundling hadnt worked out at all well.So he wanted compensation for his injuries.The crux of the case was whether Jeffreys had the right to take the law into his own hands in this way.Mr. Johnes expressed some sympathy, speaking as one gentleman to another. The servant girls had violated the trust put in them. But Jeffreys response had been excessive. The assault was serious and the men didnt retaliate or resist. So Jenkins and Williams were entitled to damages. So far so good. They had in fact asked for 50 each, but his honour hoped the jury would consider the gross misconduct in trespassing in Mr. Jeffreys house for what was clearly an immoral purpose. Minimal damages seemed right to him. But he was out of step with rural sensibilities.The jury were only out for 15 minutes and, on their return, showed more sympathy than Mr. Johnes for the old way of doing things. They awarded 15 to each of the would-be lovers, which was the equivalent of Williams annual wages.The English press were rather amused by the whole business, especially since the jury showed some sympathy for the nocturnal adventurers. The Illustrated Police News that ran with the story - and commissioned some lively art work that showed the assault in the bedroom points out that bundling also happened in Scotland. It then goes on In Orkney the very same practise prevails and is no doubt the cause of much rural immorality and shame. Though why Orkney should be identified as a seething hotbed of immorality and shame, rather than the Scottish mainland isnt explained. Perhaps hed had a bad experience with a kipper. He continues, Welsh courtship is a curiosity. No woman, however humble, shows proper self respect who allows a man to approach her unbecomingly and irreverently.Quite right too.But I am afraid to say that these are obviously the reflections of a man who has no experience of Welsh rain.